


Papa and Daddy

by Taverl



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, Love Letters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 11:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/686389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taverl/pseuds/Taverl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dear Joanna and David…"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Papa and Daddy

**Author's Note:**

> Acknowledgments: Many thanks to the Wonderful Word Wars Women for support and encouragement. And thanks to The Dala for the prompt – sorry I didn't get to Bones's POV.
> 
> Notes: Written as a response to the first part of the following prompt from the Jim and Bones "Love is in the Air" Challenge. "'Dear rugrat, First, let's get one thing straight: I'm the cool dad.' Jim and Bones are awaiting the arrival of their baby (via mpreg, adoption, surrogate - your choice) and Jim decides to write him or her a letter. Bones scoffs and mutters about infant development levels, but secretly writes one too."

_"Dear Rugrats,  
First, let's get one thing straight: I'm the cool dad."_

Jim smiled and looked up from his PADD to the two metal cylinders containing the artificial wombs, thinking of the little lives growing within. 

God, he loved technology. Inside the canisters, the conditions were almost identical to those inside a real womb. Over the hum of the built-in life support systems, he could hear the muffled rhythmic thud of a recorded heartbeat. At random intervals, the canisters would gently tilt or sway to imitate a mother's movements.

Since his brother already had two kids of his own, Jim volunteered to be the genetic "mother," and his stem cells were used to create the eggs. Add some of Bone's sperm (which Jim totally helped him donate), mix well and, voila: zygotes.

To increase their chances of success, three were implanted in the artificial wombs. One failed after only a few days, and Jim still felt a pang of sadness, despite the knowledge that they were almost guaranteed to lose at least one.

But the other two took hold and, two months later, were thriving. Recent genetic testing had shown they had one girl and one boy: Joanna Marie and David George. Their son would carry the names of the grandfathers he would never know. Fortunately, both children had grandmothers-to-be eagerly waiting to shower them with love. Their daughter would be given her grandmothers' middle names since neither Winona Joanna Kirk nor Eleanor Marie McCoy were overly fond of their first names.

Returning his attention to his PADD, he deleted what he'd already written and started over.

_"Dear Joanna and David,  
First, let's get one thing straight: both of your fathers are cool, but I'm the hip dad._

_"That doesn't mean I'm going to be the pushover dad, though. No, that will be your papa, even though he would never admit it. Before you're old enough to understand the words he's saying, you'll understand that all his gruffness and grumbling is just a cover for the most tender, caring heart in the known universe. You've already got him wrapped around your barely-there fingers, and I don't know if I'm more worried or curious to see how you will each bend him to your will once you're born._

_"So, that means I'll sometimes be the stern dad, and that honestly scares me because I never want to cross the line and become the mean dad. Your papa assures me that could never happen, but you two aren't the only ones who have him wrapped around your fingers. Even though I had a mean stepdad for a few years as a kid, I also had two wonderful granddads, so I knew the difference between 'stern' and 'mean.'_

_"'Because I said so. This hurts me more than it hurts you. When you're older, you'll understand. You'll thank me some day.' I'm sure I'll say each of those things at least once in the next two decades, but the one phrase that you'll hear from me more than any other will probably be 'Learn from my mistakes.'_

_"So many mistakes in just 44 years…it would probably take another 44 to list them all. Some you'll hear from me and your papa; others you'll learn at school, because your daddy is either fortunate or unfortunate enough to be in a position to make mistakes on a universal stage. And then there are others you'll never know about. Don't ask why not. It's for your own good. (Add that one to the list.)_

_"You'll make your own mistakes, of course. While your papa and I already know you'll be the two most perfect humans ever born, you're still human; and if humans are good at anything, it's making mistakes. And if you take after your daddy, you'll make a lot of them._

_"But no matter what, no matter how old you get or how far you travel, Papa and Daddy will always be there for you and will always love you._

_"And that's the phrase you will hear more than any other, from both of your fathers: I love you._

_"Even though it'll be another seven months before we're officially introduced, I already love you both more than anyone or anything I've ever known. Even more than your papa, which I didn't think was possible. Though if the last 20 years with him has taught me anything, it's to believe in the impossible._

_"And speaking of Papa…_

_"Even though he tries to hide it, he's even more overjoyed, terrified, excited and in love with you than I am. Nobody has a bigger heart or greater capacity for emotion than your papa and I don't doubt you'll finish the job I started and finally make his hair turn completely gray._

_"There may be times when he'll be overprotective and seem to want to wrap you in cotton to keep you safe. God knows it took all of my not-inconsiderable powers of persuasion – and the biggest fight of our relationship – to get Bones to agree to starting a family now with three years left out here in the black._

_"But that's what I love so much about him: he will do anything to protect those he loves. We've already resigned ourselves to the fact that we will argue often about how much freedom to give you and when. I've known your papa well enough and long enough to tell the difference between when he's merely worried and truly scared. You'll figure it out eventually and learn when to back down, but until then, I will always side with him when he's scared, even if I think he's overreacting._

_"Nothing matters to us more than you and will do anything to keep you safe; and if that means clipping your wings on occasion, then so be it. Consider yourself warned._

_"See? Stern dad, that's me._

_"But whether I'm being stern or permissive or silly or even angry, I will love you with every fiber of my being. I promise you that I will do anything and everything to be the best father possible and ask your forgiveness in advance for those times when I fall short._

_"I cannot wait to meet you and show you just how much I love you,  
Daddy"_

Jim was rereading the letter when his comm beeped. "McCoy to Kirk."

"Papa sounds tired, doesn't he?" Jim said as he reached for his comm.

"Kirk here," he responded.

"Can we push back lunch about half an hour?" Leonard asked.

Jim smiled to himself. "Lost track of time in the lab, I bet." Pushing a button on his comm, he said, "Sure, Bones. I was just spending some quality time with the kids."

"Jim, you do understand their hearing won't develop for another month," Leonard responded with a sigh.

"I know," Jim answered, "but I wasn't talking to them anyway, just doing some paperwork."

"How about I grab something for both of us from the mess and we can have some quality paperwork time as a family?"

"Family…" Jim's smile got impossibly wider. "Excellent idea, Bones. I think there's curry on the menu today."

"Naan and a mango lassi?" Leonard asked.

"Of course. Indian food is all about the naan and lassis."

Leonard laughed. "All right, then. Curry with all the fixin's. I'll see you and the kids in about an hour. McCoy out."

Jim closed his comm and put it in his pocket. Returning his attention to his PADD, he scrolled up to the beginning of the letter. He'd read all the information about fetal development Bones had given him and knew they couldn't hear yet, but still…

He cleared his throat.

"Dear Joanna and David…"

END


End file.
